Just wanted to share these pictures of a newly transformed 240z.  Panasports have been the obvious wheel choice for the iconic Z car for years for a good reason, THEY LOOK GREAT!!

Before:

Z Car Garage is currently building 3 RB powered Datsuns for some very lucky customers, two 240Zs and one RHD Fairlady Z.  Many of you know Rob Fuller’s “Go Green” RB25 240z from being at Z Car Garage, various car shows, and from the cover of Turbo magazine earlier this year; these customer cars are going to be all that and more!!

Here are a few pictures of Rob’s car to refresh your memory.

Parts have been coming in like crazy recently so I figured it was time to share the goodies with all of you.  First off, GReddy has sent us a few new intake manifolds to abuse in these cars (these pictures are of the stock pieces before our modifications.)

We also had CUSTOM intercoolers made just for this application.  Flow and efficiency were our main concerns in the design and they do not disappoint.   These are extremely trick and are made to the same high standards as all of our cars and will be right at home in the RB engine bay.

Tomei will be supplying the camshafts for all the engines, but they will all be a more aggressive grind than the Tomei pieces in Rob’s 240.  The turbo choice is going to be key with these builds and we will be testing a few different variations before we make a final choice.  This will be extremely critical for the car that will be getting the stroked RB28.  This engine is nearly assembled and should be a monster when completed.

The three current cars are in various stages of completion:

Kurtzee:

This beautiful car was just featured in the November issue of Sport Compact Car.  It was torn apart a few weeks ago just as the article was released.  The struts were shortened and modified to accept coilovers and then sent out to be powder coated.  It is also being prepped for the ZCG Big Brake Kit so that it will be able to stop once the car gets going with all that new found horsepower.

This car is the most complete but the engine is still in the early stages so it is expected to be finished around the same time as the black car.

The Behemoth:

This is the car that will be receiving the RB28.  The plan is for the car to be black on black with the engine bay paint matching the quality of the of all of the exterior paint.  This is a show car that will be built to take all the abuse one can throw at it.  There has been a custom roll cage installed to brace the chassis which will be painted to match the exterior.

The car is currently at paint where we are making sure that all of the body lines are perfect before the black is sprayed, it will be as smooth as glass.  The stroked 2.8L RB is assembled and waiting only on the camshafts before it is buttoned up for the final time.  As I stated earlier this engine will be getting a slightly larger turbo to take full advantage of the added displacement.  The ZCG Big Brake Kit is standard issue.

The Silver Fairlady:

This car is also set to be something really special.  It is a true JDM RHD Fairlady Z that is being restored from the ground up to be the highlight of the owners collection.  While the engine will be built to the same specs as the Kurtzee build, the rest of the car is going to be a true labor of love due to the difficulty of sourcing the rare Fairlady parts.

This car will also be receiving the ZCG brake kit as it will see regular track duty when it isn’t winning every show it enters.  The entire suspension of the car has already been modified to accept coilovers and has been powder coated in a metallic silver just like the Skyline GT-Rs of the past, truly a thing of beauty.

All of the cars will be receiving a custom designed stand-alone ECU, the Hydra Nemesis EMS 2.6.  It will be fully integrated into our custom designed harnesses with a factory fit and finish.  This system has already been installed on our green RB 240 with excellent results.

Another addition to the cars is the 3 piece, custom offset, Panasport wheel set.  These wheels are a beautiful addition to an already amazing package.  They were chosen because they have the strength to handle the power and track use that all of these cars will see.

Look for another installment in these builds with in the next week when the suspension and engine developments mature a bit further.  Long Live The RB Z!

The first track test of Z Car Garage’s own big brake kit took place last week at Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, CA. The brake kit was designed entirely in house and has gone through various stages of testing over the past few months since its creation. This initial kit was installed on a freshly restored 240z to ensure that the car would be able to handle it’s new braking capabilities.

After the owner of the car had a few sessions under his belt with the kit it was time to test the brakes under tougher race-like conditions. To do this the ZCG crew enlisted the help of professional racecar driver David Ray. David has won a San Francisco Regional championship (1994) in an ITS prepared 240z and again (2004) in a T2 class 350z.

With the Z Car team in the hot pits, Ray took to the track with instructions to make two hot laps to gauge initial feel and then return to the pits for inspection. He returned to the pits with a smile and a satisfactory report. The ZCG pit crew took temperature measurements and did a quick visiual inspection before sending Ray back onto the track. This time he was asked to stay out for the entire session or until he felt any change in the braking feel.  He stayed out for the rest of the half hour session with no issues.  Every other lap or so he would give a thumbs up to the crew as he went down the front straight.

When the session ended he pulled into the pits and the crew took their final “hot lap” readings. After all the data was logged Ray jumped out of the 240z with a huge grin on his face.  The first words out of his mouth were, “These are the best brakes I have ever felt on a 240z, including my race cars.”  He continued on, “These brakes are much better than the Brembos on my championship winning T2 350z, I even had to pump them (the Brembos) after a few hot laps.”

Now on to the specs. The rotors are 12.9 inches in diameter with custom machined billet brackets. The rotor hats were also designed from scratch in house at Z Car Garage. Other parts included with the ZCG brake kit are an upgraded master cylinder, brake booster, and braided lines. The caliper specs are under lock and key for now but rest assured that the braking bias is spot on with amazing pedal feel.

Due to the size of the rotor and caliper, wheel choice is very critical. Z Car Garage has worked extensively to get the brakes to fit under the current 16″ Panasport casting with a custom Z Car Garage offset.

More updates will be posted here as they happen.  ENJOY!!

Additional information can be had by contacting Rob@zcargarage.com